Police and Queues!

Behind wisteria leaves I peep
Cheery voices in the street
Dogs, bikes and runners pass on by
Delighted in the sun to fry!

The Boitsfort market touts its wares
But a one-way system invites stares
Past the bank round barricades
A sense of virus still pervades.

Police control the waiting crowd;
Once 'in', no dawdling is allowed
The atmosphere is somewhat tense
How many will short cut the fence?

The casual joy of pick and choose
And chats with neighbours sharing news
Now seems a distant memory
I ponder – are we really free?

There's talk of drones and 'track and trace'
What loss of privacy we face ...
I give it up – it's all too hard
Like Shakespeare's lovers – we're ill-starred!

(c) Poet in the woods 2020

Coin Du Balai - Observations

A short walk in bright sun today
Where shadows on the tarmac play
A wealth of gardens: some so neat
Filled with flowers smelling sweet.

Surprising plantlets bloom on walls
In nooks and crannies ivy sprawls.
Hotel for insects near the school
Birds in rooftops keeping cool.

Books and toys on sills are stacked
Free for the taking – bric à brac!
An eerie silence all the same
So odd – it goes against the grain.

Just two families, kids in tow
Chat on the sidewalk in full flow
They keep their distance, so do I
The life we live right now* - a lie ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2020

* under COVID





Insect Hotel

On Heysel, Crowds and Drought

The bad news avalanche still runs!
My head, beleaguered, fairly hums
What's forbidden, what's allowed?
How many people make a crowd?

The schools go back, exams online
Without a mask – is this a crime?
The world of culture in all forms
Strikes vociferously – in swarms!

In Eighty-Five - right on this day
The Heysel stadium gave way
So 39 fans lost their lives;
This tragic memory survives ...

Meanwhile there's drought on Flanders plain;
Will we live Seventy-Six again?
Some 'feel-good' factors there must be
If so, they hide themselves from me ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2020



29/5/1985 Heysel Stadium, Brussels Liverpool vs Juventus (who won 1-0)

On Human Nature

A thought plays deeply on my mind:
Perhaps I am a tad unkind?
But in this unplanned situation
Human beings – of all persuasion

Show their best side and their worst;
An intriguing subject for my verse ...
Devout are those who do their best
To help us, when put to the test.

Then those, I fear, who think of self
And grab more loo rolls from the shelf!
Meanwhile, the Virus rides the crest
So those without masks risk arrest!

With beach and Ardennes out of bounds
"Essential travel only" sounds
A Cross too many to be borne
Many all precautions scorn ...

Though the battle's far from won
Masses drive out just for fun ...
And those, mean-spirited, who spy
On neighbours merely passing by?

While most behave and stay at home
Others cannot cope alone
Some a new tongue learn to speak
Others just get drunk all week ...

Creative streak or deep frustration?
Both exist in this small Nation;
Deep down we hear our inner voice
And after listening – make our choice!

(c) Poet in the woods 2020

A Reappraisal?

Will bars re-open? Maybe not ...
And will the masses wish to shop?
Or crowd in football stadia now?
Cheap airlines take a final bow?

Our modern world, beset by greed
Quakes; we just buy what we need
How can these superstructures last?
It seems to me the die is cast ...

The longer limits are imposed
The less we're tempted to buy clothes
And wearing make-up is obscured
Lipgloss under masks – absurd!

Baking, sewing, jigsaws, plants
And crafts - our lock-down lives enhance,
We check our cupboards – too much stock
Queues on spending sprees don't rock ...

May's sunbeams warm both rich and poor
It's free and waits outside our door!
Let's gently take our daily stroll
And fill with joy our inner soul...

(c) Poet in the woods 2020

Under COVID ...

Welcome to Aiden Miles!

Was it the stork's wings that I heard
Near midnight, on the 23rd?
My far-flung family grows apace;
A phone call tells of brand-new face!

A goodly weight, proud parents thrilled
Their crib with first born son is filled
Shy of the camera – with eyes closed
But a shock of dark hair clearly shows!

Already worth his weight in gold
Here's Aiden Miles! He's one-day-old
Swaddled tight in pink and blue
By Mummy's side, her dream come true!

In Irish - he's a «little fire»
In time perhaps a real live wire?
This name is written many ways
Each promises new trails to blaze ...

There's a Punk Rock Band from Washington,
An exile - lost in Babylon ...
'Harry Potter' has an Aiden too
And football fans cheer quite a few!

'Attractive', 'handsome': treasured joy
An exciting life awaits this boy
Such fun it is to contemplate
What Aiden will write on his slate!

(c) Poet in the woods 2020



Born  23rd May, 2020 at 23h 5min!!



Home sweet home!

Pavement Thoughts

The Virus* helps young weeds to grow
In many colours all on show
Unbowed, they stretch their tiny leaves
Between the tram tracks like a frieze!

Sturdy, bold as brass and strong
They congregate in happy throng
Perhaps they nod as trams glide past
Conceited – Man has been outclassed!

A mere two months with people banned
And city streets, with feet once crammed,
Relax - and let wee tendrils creep
Through cracks in sterile walkways neat.

I leave tram 8** and gaze around
At Nature's artwork on the ground
While many restos, too long closed,
Look dusty, maybe in death throes?

No outside tables, no swish bars
More graffiti ... fewer cars
Brussels seems becalmed; its mood
A trifle sad, its heart subdued ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2020

* COVID

** at Place Wiener, Boitsfort